Oliver finally gets his EHC plan

Oliver is 10 and comes from a very close-knit family with his mum and dad (Jess and Dan) and 2 sisters, Thea and Lara. We as Oliver’s grandparents (Maria and Keith) look after the children 2 days a week, taking them to and from school. We also take the grandchildren on holiday and have many sleepovers.

Oliver lost his hearing when he was 3. He contracted mumps before he had his second MMR vaccination, and this caused his hearing loss. Oliver lip-read for 3 months before we realised he was deaf.

This is Oliver’s courageous journey so far with the support of his family, friends, community and the National Deaf Children's Society (NDCS), who have been a great support with their resources and blogs. We hope this blog will support many other families going through the same journey as ours.

Autism diagnosis

At the age of 9, Oliver was diagnosed with autism. We had thought for a while Oliver needed extra support but thought this was down to being deaf. He struggles in school with background noise, lots of conversations going on at once, and not being able to hear certain soundings of a word, which can certainly change the sentence and the meaning!

Getting the diagnosis was great as it enables Oliver to get extra support for his autism, and not just through the Teacher of the Deaf or going to a school with a deaf hub/resource. This will help Oliver in his journey through adolescence, going to senior school and going onto further education or starting an apprenticeship.

Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan

Because of his deafness, Oliver's Teacher of the Deaf had put together 'learning support plans' together with his parents and his school. These were reviewed every term to make sure Oliver was reaching his targets and to see where he needed extra support.

Unfortunately, as will all local authority funding in England, because Oliver didn’t have a formalised EHC plan, the support has decreased over the years. This has led to Oliver not being able to reach his targets.

The Covid outbreak in 2020 added to Oliver's stress and anxiety, resulting in Oliver getting additional support from the CAMHS team (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service), who were great in arranging support for Oliver both in and out of school.

Oliver's parents wanted to get an EHC plan in place before he started senior school. We had a look on the NDCS website, and there was a lot of information on how to arrange an assessment if you think your child is entitled to an EHC plan, so Oliver’s parents decided to do this themselves. They knew it wasn’t going to be easy. It would take a lot of time, resources and, to be honest, a fight at times to get the support Oliver needed. (I am always ready to fight my grandson's corner, but that is what grandparents do, don’t they?)

Applying for the EHC plan

Firstly, there were the forms. Lots of forms to fill in, often duplicating what you have already written.

Next, the meetings to collate the evidence. This was one of the hardest jobs, especially when it depends on the area you live in, how busy their waiting lists are, and what budget they have. It was like throwing a dice at times to see if you would get a 6 or not. No science in it, just down to pure luck.

There were the reports from:

• Teachers and Teachers of the Deaf to see where Oliver was or was not meeting his academic grades and what support he already had.
• The speech and language teacher about Oliver’s speech development. If you can’t hear the words properly, you can’t pronounce them properly, and this can sadly hold somebody back in their career development and further interviews.
• Oliver's parents wrote a report, and as his grandparents, we also wrote a report of Oliver’s aspirations. We included how extra support would mean Oliver could have the same education and achieve the same grades as someone without a disability.
• Deaf CAMHS on the on-going support Oliver had received for his anxiety.
• Learning support plans – evidence from the last 6 years.
• Local authority – Educational psychologist assessment and report.
• Social services reports. These are optional, but you stand a better chance if you get more evidence.

Challenges

Even when you have got all the above, it doesn’t mean you will get an ECH plan. All authorities are different; some take a few weeks and some can take months to collate the evidence.

Time was a challenge as Oliver's parents wanted to get one in place before he starts senior school, so they started collating the evidence in February 2024.

Finding resources and knowing what information is out there is another challenge. NDCS have great resources. Deaf CAMHS are great and very supportive. SEND and You are another great organisation who will review your application and let you know if you need any further information.

Family and friends support is really important too. If you are struggling with a question, ask someone who knows your child to explain and give you some evidence. For example, when playing outside, what do they notice about the child and what support do they give? The questions are not there to catch you out but to make you clearly think about the support your child needs to ensure they thrive in everything they do.

Awarding the EHC plan

Oliver's parents submitted his application on 12 June 2024. They were told on the 24 July it would go to panel on 16 October.

This was an anxious time for Oliver and his parents as they had already visited their local senior school. The special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) hub at the school was excellent, and Oliver felt at ease there. All their hopes were on him getting his EHC plan so he could attend the school.

On 17 October, Oliver’s parents received an email to say Oliver got his EHC plan. What a relief that was for everyone. They sent over his plan for his parents to review, and once agreed, this was forwarded to his current school and to the senior school he wants to attend.

Oliver’s mum Jess has said, "Now Oliver has his EHC plan, we know he will get extra support in school so he can achieve whatever he wants to achieve. The plan is in place till Oliver is 25, which is great if he wants to go to university or have an apprenticeship. We know he will be supported and not discriminated against due to his disability. As a parent, we all want what is the best for our children and for them to be happy and healthy."

Choosing a school

Sadly, Oliver's first choice of senior school said they couldn't accommodate him. The school was already full of SEND children and said the government do not fund enough for them to cover the additional costs.

His parents started looking at more senior schools, which was extremely stressful. One school quoted an extra £15k for him to go there, and Oliver's needs are the basics: a good education so he can thrive in life, not a lot to ask for. We thought once getting the plan in place, it would be sorted, but sadly it wasn't! 

However, we recently got some very good news. After 3 schools said they couldn't meet Oliver's needs, a school has come forward to say they can, which is wonderful for Oliver. It will mean a bit of travelling, and my husband and I will have to help with travel as it's the opposite direction to where the girls' school is. But it means Oliver will get the support to enable him to thrive and achieve everything he wants to do, which is all we want for him, so excellent news.